COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M decided to move on from head coach Kevin Sumlin last season and paid a hefty price to bring in the replacement it wanted. Jimbo Fisher will get started trying to earn that reported $75 million contract when he guides the Aggies against visiting Northwestern State in the season opener on Thursday.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: None
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Fisher won a national championship at Florida State but was coming off a 7-6 campaign with the Seminoles when he decided to take a 10-year contract at Texas A&M, and he seems to be happy with the decision.
"From the chancellor, to the president, to the athletic director, to the head coach, it's one here," Fisher told ESPN.com. "I'm in communication with all three and very rarely does that happen consistently. They are very involved and always coming to me and saying, 'What do you need? What else do we need to do?' Their visions, goals and values are in line with mine. We all believe in the same thing."
Fisher inherits a roster that lost wide receiver Christian Kirk to the NFL but brings back enough talent on both sides of the ball to keep expectations high.
The Demons return only two players who started all 11 games on defense last season for a team that finished 4-7 in the FCS's Southland Conference and will introduce three new linebackers and three first-time starters in the secondary against the Aggies.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE (2017: 4-7)
The Demons are expected to use two quarterbacks in the opener as they attempt to choose a starter between senior Clay Holgorsen and junior Shelton Eppler. Both players are trying to learn a new system under first-year head coach Brad Laird.
"You reflect on spring practice, with a new scheme, new terminology and a new coaching staff, all the way through the summer and fall, we've had two guys who have earned the right to play," Laird told reporters. "You look at the leadership they've brought not only on the field but off it, and their decision making has been smart, getting the ball in the hands of playmakers."
ABOUT TEXAS A&M (2017: 7-6)
Fisher and his team don't get much time to ease into the season with former ACC rival Clemson coming up next week, and the Aggies could use Week 1 to sort out the quarterback competition. Sophomores Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond both got playing time under Sumlin last season and are involved in a close race for the starting nod in camp.
"Somebody will have to start off the game," Fisher told reporters. "But right now, I feel very comfortable with both guys … I feel confident that both guys can go in and play winning football."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Starkel threw for 499 yards and four TDs in a 55-52 loss to Wake Forest in last year's Belk Bowl.
2. Demons DLs Obinna Iheoma and Zak Krolczyk are the team's lone returning starters on that side of the ball.
3. The Aggies return leading rusher Trayveon Williams, who ran for 798 yards as a sophomore in 2017.
PREDICTION: Texas A&M 55, Northwestern State 17